Decipher the East

When I taught a composition course to third-year students of Chinese a couple of years ago, I looked for textbooks on teaching writing in Chinese.

The three I found were of little use as they were written and published in China, for students of Chinese in China. I could not find any textbook in English on teaching writing to learners of Chinese in the West.

Here, at last, is such a textbook. Developing Writing Skills in Chinese covers a wide range of styles from greeting cards to business correspondence, which is helpful for both teacher and learner. The books contains sample texts and exercises. The carefully constructed samples not only illustrate how the Chinese language is used in writing, but also reflect developments in China.

Song Lianyi is principal teaching fellow in Chinese, School of Oriental and African Studies, London.